Russia, New Zealand set to lock horns in Confed Cup opener

MOSCOW: Hosts Russia kick off the Confederations Cup against New Zealand in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, targeting victory in their opening match to set the tone for a successful tournament.

“We’ve worked hard and I believe now we’re well-prepared for the opening game,” Zenit midfielder Igor Smolnikov told Russian TV. “But we will be able to check whether we’ve done everything right only once we play in official matches.”

Smolnikov believes hosts will go in to the tournament with full of optimism. “We’re all feeling brave and will take things on full of optimism. Hopefully, the arena in Saint Petersburg will be a lucky venue for our team.”

Russia manager Stanislav Cherchesov takes charge of his first competitive match with the national team, having stepped in to the role after the country’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign.

The former Russian international goalkeeper has set his squad the ambitious task of winning the Confed Cup, a dress rehearsal for the next year’s World Cup.

But Russia have achieved mixed results since his appointment with three wins, three draws and three defeats.

Russia salvaged an impressive 3-3 draw with Belgium, but that followed a 2-0 home defeat to Ivory Coast — Russia’s first loss to an African team — and a humiliating 2-1 defeat to Qatar.

However results in recent friendlies — a 3-0 win in Hungaru and 1-1 draw with Copa America holders Chile — have given the country’s football fans some hope.

New Zealand are appearing at the Confed Cup for the fourth time, although the All Whites are still hunting for a first victory in the eight-team competition.

Anthony Hudson’s side are through to the final round of regional World Cup qualifying and will play Solomon Islands in a two-legged play-off, but New Zealand suffered 1-0 defeats to Northern Ireland and Belarus in recent friendlies.

Hudson though insists his players are raring to go in Russia.

“We’re 100 percent ready. We have a very, very good team, we have some good players in our team and the objective for us is to do something significant,” he told reporters on Friday. “We’re very optimistic coming into this tournament.

New Zealand manager reveals that his team will be eyeing an upset win in the opener. “There is no point in us being here if we’re not trying to win. The first game for us is Russia and we want to win that game. And we will go into the next game with the same mindset. We know they are strong but we have no fear of them.”